PC: Fox 11 Online
BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — It’s a natural fact of life; every fall, there’s an uptick in most respiratory diseases.
However, local health officials have been surprised to see a jump in whooping cough, also known as pertussis, cases since this spring.
“I would say whooping cough is something that you typically wouldn’t plan on seeing in your office, and now it’s made its way onto our ‘more commonly seen,'” says Dr. Austin Greenwood, a family medicine physician at the Bellin Health clinic in Bellevue.
“When you see someone for a cough, usually you’d say whopping cough was pretty uncommon. Now, it makes its way into a consideration of ‘Should we be looking for this more?’ because we know it’s coming across and seeing us in the office more frequently,” Greenwood added.
Whooping cough is most common in infants and is caused by a bacteria that attaches to the lining of the lungs. Health officials say it starts out with cold-like symptoms, then progresses into a violent cough.
“It’s a coughing fit and then it’s a gasp for breath, and so that’s what gives whooping cough its name, because that inspiration between coughing fits gives that whooping noise,” says Chrystal Woller, the health director at the De Pere Health Department.
“It’s spread through the air when people cough or sneeze. In addition, it can be contagious for up to three weeks,” adds Katrina Nordyke with the Brown County Health Department.
A confirmed whooping cough case at Edison Middle School this week comes after several reported cases in Shawano County last month, and 15 in Fond du Lac County in July.
Last year, Nordyke says Wisconsin only saw 31 cases of the disease. So far this year, Brown County alone has already seen more than 30.
“So, it is higher than it was last year and that also can be related to more awareness, to providers testing more frequently now that we know we had these cases in the spring, but we have seen an increase compared to last year already,” Nordyke says.
But why the increase? Nordyke, Greenwood and Woller all say there could be several reasons, but among them could be due to increased vaccine hesitancy since the pandemic.
“Certainly a little bit of reluctance towards vaccination in children. That’s where the primary series happens and where you get your initial immunity from it, and we know that kids are where it spreads to adults, so if there are more kids getting whooping cough, they’re more likely to spread it to adults,” Greenwood says.
Another reason, they say, could be adults unknowingly missing their booster. Greenwood said the booster is typically given when adolescents get their tetanus shot.
“These vaccines are safe. This is a vaccine that has been around for a very long time, so have those conversations with your providers if you have questions, you know. It’s important to be vaccinated,” adds Woller.
Those curious about what vaccines they have and have not received can check the Wisconsin Immunization Registry by clicking here.
More information about the disease and vaccinations can be found on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services page.
Comments